The Great Thaw Part III
by lost-in-arendelle
Summary: Having sold part of his soul for fire magic to combat Elsa's ice magic, Hans burns the forests surrounding the North Mountain, sending our heroes on a perilous journey. Elsa's powers and Anna's determination are all that stands between Arendelle and a flood that will drown and destroy the entire kingdom. Part III/IV.


"Walls of ice," the people whispered. "Queen Elsa will save us."

Elsa clenched her jaw and stared grimly at the frozen waves surrounding her kingdom. As the relieved townspeople sighed and applauded, she wondered if she was the only one who saw the menace and danger in the towering waves, poised in the moment before they crashed and flooded the streets. It would take so little heat to set them in devastating motion again. And somewhere beyond the fjord lurked the man who would do it.

Heart pounding, she glanced over her shoulder, past her sister and brother-in-law wrapped in a fierce embrace, to Tor of the Southern Isles. His concern was written all over his face as he studied the ice.

"It won't hold," he said as she stepped up beside him. "You know that."

Elsa nodded.

"All I've done is buy us time to get the rest of these people out." Sparks of ice shot from her fingertips as she paced the half-broken pier. "We only have however long it takes for Hans to move down the mountain and cross the fjord." She swallowed and raked her hair back from her forehead. "Truly, I've only made it worse. I've given him a way to reach Arendelle. Across the frozen fjord, exactly the same way I escaped to the North Mountain."

"My brother will appreciate the irony," Tor said dryly.

Her knees shook and Elsa cursed the sign of weakness. She felt his steadying hand on her elbow.

"I refuse to play straight into his hand," she snapped, yanking her arm free. "Not again. Not after last year."

"But you won't drown your people," Tor replied, his voice gentle and grave. "You would never do it."

"I'd rather die."

This time, when his hand stroked her elbow, she did not jerk away. A quick glance to her left showed Anna and Kristoff still locked together, as if they gained some secret strength from holding onto each other. For just one moment, she closed her eyes and gave in to the long-buried longing for comfort. Just once, she wanted someone to see her not as a queen or an unnatural creature, but a person with human fears and weaknesses, as deserving of help and reassurance as anyone else.

But pride and fear and sheer force of habit made her pull back from his touch.

"We don't have much time," she said, loud enough to seize even her sister's attention. "Anna, Kristoff, round up the stragglers and lead them to Kai. Make sure the houses are empty, especially those closest to the water. Tor, return to the castle. Urge the people gathered there to head towards the southern mountain pass." She scanned glowing North Mountain. "If Hans manages to cross the fjord without detection, he'll head straight to the castle. It's our home and a symbol of everything he wants- he'll attempt to claim it or burn it to the ground."

Anna gasped.

"I _hate_ him." Swinging at an invisible opponent, she struggled to free herself from Kristoff, but he held her shoulders tight. Tor chuckled, but Kristoff's eyes were on Elsa, his expression sober.

"And you?"

Elsa glared at him. She'd wanted to send them all away immediately, before they had time to pause or question her decisions. Anna's eyes widened.

"No," she said. "You are not facing him alone."

"I'm the one with powers."

"I'm the one who almost kissed him!" She shot a glance at her frowning husband. "Almost. I said _almost_, right?"

"And I had to grow up in the same castle with him." Tor crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow, daring her to argue.

"And I owe him a right hook," Kristoff added. "To the nose."

"It is rather long, isn't it?" Tor actually had the audacity to grin.

Elsa's shoulders sagged.

"It's dangerous. I want you safe. All of you." She flung her arms out, sending sharp spears of ice into the wooden pier. "I can defend myself. I need you to keep the people of Arendelle safe."

"He has fire magic," Anna said. "He'll melt everything you throw at him." She reached for Elsa's hand. "Kai and Gerda and the guardsmen will continue the evacuation. You need us."

"I don't think-"

"You're not alone anymore, Elsa." Tor stepped near enough for his arm to rub against her shoulder. "Accept it graciously."

"And when you die and I have a diplomatic crisis with the Southern Isles on my hands?"

"My brothers know where I am," he said calmly. "And I should be here. I know Hans best, I will be better-able to predict his actions."

"He may not be the same Hans," Elsa said. She knew by the stubborn looks on their faces that she had already lost her argument, but her conscience demanded that she try one last time. "He sold part of his soul for magic. Who knows what's left. He's dangerous."

"He was always dangerous," Kristoff said. "But I'll take an honest fight over him deceiving Anna any day."

Behind the pier, the citizens of Arendelle kept running south, towards the castle and the villages in the fertile valley beyond. She wanted to scream at a merchant who dawdled in front of his shop, tacking boards to the windows when he should have been shepherding his family from the city. At this rate, they'd never evacuate the kingdom in time.

"Fine," she said angrily, "but promise me you'll retreat if it becomes too dangerous." Her eyes locked with her sister's. "Remember, you are the spare, Anna. If anything happens to me-"

Anna's mouth gaped open.

"I can't believe you."

Elsa winced and turned away, straight into a frozen wave and the wide eyes of a suspended fish.

"I can't either," she muttered. "I'm sorry."

"We don't have time to bicker," Tor said. He jumped onto the highest post on the pier and hoisted himself onto the waves, slipping in his Hessians as he tried to gain his footing. He knelt down and lowered his hand. "Either we go to him or he comes to us. And judging by the height of this wall, I think it would be best to avoid the latter."

"Agreed," Anna said. She narrowed her eyes at Elsa, daring her to argue.

"Fine." Elsa stepped back and waved her hand. A sturdy staircase of ice appeared to guide them from the broken pier to the top of the flooded fjord. She marched straight up, ignoring Tor's outstretched hand. He stood up slowly as Anna and Kristoff followed.

"I should have known you wouldn't need my help."

"You are more likely to need mine."

He tilted his head back and laughed, shocking her with a smile of true admiration.

"You are right." He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles where snowflakes patterned her skin. It only happened in moments of extreme anxiety, and thank goodness he wasn't aware of it.

But Anna was, and the knowing look in her eye made Elsa snatch her hand back and turn away from Arendelle.

"We're wasting time," she said as she took off running. The others followed close at her heels, relying on Elsa to freeze the water that slid continuously over the icy fjord and soaked their boots.

"You're going to build an ice mountain if this keeps up," Anna said as she stumbled up the next wave. Elsa froze another seconds before it could sweep them away.

They watched in horror as centuries-old trees crashed down the mountainside like giant, fiery torches. The sky was full of smoke, turning the sunny day to blackish night. Elsa threw a blast of cold wind into the worst of it, blowing the smoke away from her kingdom before it poisoned the fleeing townspeople.

When Anna coughed, Kristoff unwound the sash from his waist and wrapped it around her face, shielding her nose and mouth.

"But what about you?" Anna asked.

He stroked the ashes from her cheek.

"If you're okay, then I'm okay."

He gave her a wistful smile and Elsa had to turn away, suddenly conscious of invading a private moment.

"Here." Tor shoved a handkerchief into her hand.

"Thank you." She held it against her nose and kept running, eyes stinging from the heat and smoke. Ashes rained down all around them, as weightless and silent as snow, melting tiny points in the frozen fjord and blackening her gown. She hated the black, it reminded her too much of death- of her parents, of the danger facing her people- the opposite of the pure, brilliant white of the snow from which she drew her strength.

They reached the far edge of the fjord, a giant slope of ice, water, and ash- impossible to climb.

"Make another staircase," Anna shouted.

Elsa thrust her hands out and did exactly that, built the tallest, strongest staircase of ice she could imagine, fisted her skirts in her hands, and ran faster than she'd ever run before, faster than she'd even run from her coronation ball. Then, she was running away from danger, and now, she raced straight towards it.

"What a difference a year can make," she muttered.

Anna, Kristoff, and Tor followed right behind her. The men could have easily overtaken her with their ground-eating strides, but they respected her right to lead. It shouldn't have mattered, but it gave her an extra boost of confidence. They'd put their trust in her and she wouldn't let them down.

"Not much farther," she said, aware of Anna's coughing and Kristoff's heavy breathing. Every step seemed to draw them deeper into the smoke. She couldn't blow it away fast enough. As soon as she shot a gust of wind above their heads, another tree caught fire and the smoke drifted right back.

"You're making it worse," Kristoff shouted over the roar of the water and the crackling fire. "The wind blows the flames along with the smoke. It's spreading the fire across the forest."

Half of the mountains and hills that surrounded the fjord stood ablaze, glowing orange as their trees burned and pumping smoke into the sky as if they were volcanoes. Elsa hesitated, panic rising as rapidly as the flames.

"I wasn't thinking!"

"Yes, you were," Kristoff said firmly. "You were thinking of Anna and our scorched lungs. There's no shame in that. I just wanted to warn you that-"

"Kristoff!" Anna screamed.

He dove, shielding her with his whole body as an enormous, burning pine crashed down the mountain. Elsa tossed Tor forward with a blast of wind and threw her arms over her head a second before the massive tree smashed through her staircase, shattering the place where Tor and Kristoff had stood only moments before, and landing with a sickening crack on the ice below.

Steam rose and hissed from the trunk as they caught their breath, too stunned to do anything but stare at each other.

"Is- is everyone okay?" Kristoff asked hoarsely.

"Yes," Anna whispered, clutching his arm with ghost-white fingers.

Elsa and Tor could only nod. A chasm lay between the two halves of the staircase, Elsa and Tor on one side, Anna and Kristoff on the other. With a shake of her head, Elsa rebuilt the stairs between them.

"Hurry," she said, her voice just as hoarse as Kristoff's. "The steam from the tree will melt it quickly."

Jaw clenched and eyebrows drawn, Kristoff scooped Anna into his arms and started running. He tore up the remaining steps two and three at a time, flying past Elsa and Tor in his quest to reach the top and keep his wife safe. Elsa chased after him, dodging burning tree branches and falling rocks. She heard Tor curse behind her, and glanced over her shoulder to see him clutching his forearm with an agonized expression. The smoke wasn't so thick that she couldn't see that his jacket was badly singed and he was bleeding.

"Don't mind me," he said through gritted teeth. "We princes of the Southern Isles are resilient." He scowled at the North Mountain, blazing brighter than all the rest. "Too bloody resilient."

They caught up with Anna and Kristoff on higher ground- muddy ground slippery from the melted snow. The fires hadn't spread here yet, despite some burning patches where trees had fallen from the steep slopes overhead. Elsa covered the mud in frost until the ground felt solid enough for them to continue their pursuit.

"Are we really going to chase him all the way up the North Mountain?" Anna cast a worried look at Kristoff and coughed into the sash around her face. "Because it took days last time, and the forest wasn't, you know, _on fire_ then."

"You should go home," Elsa said. "It's too dangerous."

Anna yanked down the sash to reveal a ferocious frown.

"And leave you here? Absolutely not." She folded her arms across her chest. "I only meant that it's awfully cowardly of Hans to attack _our_ kingdom, yet make us search the forest for him like- like we're playing hide-and-seek!"

"He's devious," Tor said, "but not particularly bright. He can't stay on a mountain that he's flooded and burnt beyond recognition. His own powers are pushing him this way, whether he wants to come to us or not."

"All we need to do is follow the flames," Kristoff said. He was the first to turn away and start walking. "I know this area best. I'll lead."

Anna touched his arm, seeing something in his face that Elsa and Tor couldn't, though Elsa could guess what he must be feeling. Until he'd fallen in love with Anna, these mountains had been Kristoff's home, and now they were scorched beyond recognition. She didn't think she could hate Hans more than she had a year ago, but every passing minute proved her wrong.

"This way." Kristoff pointed past dozens of trees that stood black, thin, and fragile, like a forest of burnt matches. "The strongest flames are moving this way, but the wind is blowing east."

"So it must be magic," Tor said.

Kristoff grimaced.

"If you can call it that." He stomped forward. "Come on."

"Your family will be okay," Anna promised, squeezing his arm tightly as they walked. "They're strong and wise and they have magic of their own. They've lived for hundreds of years, and-"

"Not the little ones."

"Grand Pabbie will protect them."

He raked a hand through his hair, scattering ashes onto his shoulders.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"We all do," Tor said, earning a glare from Kristoff, who started moving faster.

Elsa hoped he knew where he was headed because she had no time to track Hans. It took all of her strength and concentration to keep the smoke from swallowing them and the flames at arms' length. No matter how much ice and snow and winter wind she threw at the fire, they were always surrounded.

"Are you all right?" Tor asked. Elsa stopped walking as he pulled another handkerchief from his pocket. Giving her plenty of time to protest or back away, he stepped close to her and wiped the sweat and ashes from her forehead. "You look worn out, and-"

They jerked apart at the sound of Anna's ear-splitting scream.

"Anna!" Elsa shouted her name over the roaring panic in her chest. Her feet left a trail of ice in the mud as she ran towards her sister.

Anna lay crumpled on the ground, gripping her arm tight to her waist, surrounded on three sides by a wall of flames at least two meters tall.

"Where's Kristoff?" Elsa raised her hands to blow the flames away.

"No!" Anna grabbed Elsa's wrist and rose unsteadily to her feet. "Kristoff's trapped on the other side."

"What?"

"The fire came out of nowhere!" She flinched as she held up her hand, the back red and puckered. Her face was streaked with tears and she was obviously trying not to cry.

"_Anna_."

"It shot right between our hands," she said. "I stumbled and before he could catch me, the flames sprang up between us. I- I've never seen anything like it."

"That's because there is nothing like it." Tor glared towards the mountain again. "It's not real fire."

Anna's breath hitched on a sob.

"It certainly feels like real fire."

"That's not what he meant," Elsa said gently. "It's obviously magic. No natural fire could spring up in walls or drive you and Kristoff apart."

"If he hurts Kristoff-" The fear and pain in Anna's expression was suddenly replaced with fury. "I'll kill him myself."

"I'll be your second," Tor said. He pulled a long dagger from his boot and handed it to her, blade down. "Do you know how to use this, my lady?"

Anna swallowed and wrapped her fist around the hilt. She narrowed her eyes as soon as she touched it and nodded sharply.

"Of course."

Elsa's eyebrows rose, but her sister shot her a look that said she'd never be forgiven if she revealed that Anna's only experience with knives involved buttering toast. She was relieved to see Tor drawing his sword from the scabbard at his waist, especially since it appeared that he actually knew how to wield it.

"He must be close by," he said, "if he was able to separate the princess from her husband. Keep a sharp eye out."

"But how do we get to Kristoff?" Anna asked.

"I'll cover the fire with ice," Elsa said. "It will melt, but hopefully it will take the fire with it."

Anna ran to her side as Elsa concentrated on the wall of flames. Spikes of ice rose in a long line, sizzling and vanishing into steam the moment they touched the fire, but the flames were weakening enough to give her hope.

"Do you see him?" Elsa shouted.

"No!" Anna clutched the dagger so hard that her knuckles turned white. "What if Hans kidnapped him? What if-"

While Elsa hurried to tame the remaining walls of fire, Tor snorted and walked closer to Anna.

"Don't panic," he said. "Your husband is taller, stronger, and at least two stone heavier than my louse of a half-brother. Hans couldn't take him anywhere without a fight."

"Anna!" Elsa pointed to a pale shape behind the dwindling wall of fire, the last she needed to douse to clear their path to the North Mountain.

"Kristoff!" Anna tripped forward, skirt in one hand and dagger in the other, rushing across the wet ground to her husband. She knelt beside him and ran her fingers across his cheek. He lay on his side, unmoving and unconscious, oblivious to her touch.

Elsa choked down a cold wave of fury, but it escaped in a howling wind and hail above the charred forest. She glared at Tor.

"If he's dead, your brother will die a long, slow, very cold death."

The prince nodded, nonplussed.

"And he'll deserve every moment of it."

Elsa fought the urge to run to Anna's side. She knew the moment was too private to intrude upon, but the way Anna crumpled over Kristoff's body and sobbed until her every limb shook tore at Elsa's heart.

"He's not waking," Tor whispered gravely. "He must have inhaled too much smoke."

Anna stood, her arms wrapped tight around her waist, and faced them.

"He needs his family," she said. "They'll help. They'll-" her voice cracked on a sob and she fell into Elsa's arms, burying her wet eyes and nose against her neck. "He's not dead. He's not dead. He can't- I love him- I won't let him-"

"Shh." Elsa stroked Anna's back and hugged her tight as her sister wept. "You're right, he's not dead. We'll take him to the trolls and all will be well."

She hoped she sounded convincing. She knew firsthand that there were some conditions the trolls couldn't fix, and she hoped this wasn't one of them. The idea of Anna without Kristoff terrified her, for she knew her bright and buoyant sister would never be the same.

"What- what about Hans?" Anna raised her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "He- he could be halfway across the fjord by now."

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut. Decisions like this were exactly the reason she'd promised herself never to marry or have children. To choose between saving her brother-in-law and her sister's happiness or protecting her kingdom was agonizing.

"We could split up," Tor suggested.

"No," Elsa said. The thought of Anna dragging Kristoff through a burning forest made her shudder. With nothing to defend themselves against the smoke and flames, they'd die before they reached the trolls. She kissed the top of Anna's head. "I will go with you. You need me."

"But Arendelle," Anna protested.

Elsa glanced back towards the fjord. The smoke was too heavy, she couldn't see her kingdom. It was as if Arendelle had vanished when she chose Anna over her people.

"I'm a terrible queen," she muttered.

"You're the best sister," Anna whispered at the same time.

Elsa smiled sadly. If only she could be both, a good sister and a good queen. Sometimes, she felt cursed and destined to be neither.

"We must hurry," she said quickly. "Anna, you know the trolls best. You'll need to lead the way."

Elsa waved her hands and lifted Kristoff on a current of cool wind. It took more concentration and energy than she liked, but she kept him floating as they tramped through the forest, weaving in and out between black trees and climbing over fallen trunks.

"I'm almost glad Kristoff can't see this," Anna said. "It would break his heart."

Elsa couldn't reply, she needed all her focus to keep Kristoff aloft. But she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder, once, twice, half a dozen times as they moved closer to the North Mountain. Instinct warned her that they were being watched, but every time she turned, nothing but empty, dead forest stared back at her.

When Anna finally pointed to a clearing filled with mossy rocks arranged in an ancient, stone amphitheater, Elsa feared she was on the verge of fainting.

"We made it," Anna said. She ran into the center of the clearing and started talking to the rocks, frantic and on the verge of tears again.

"When I was dying, he brought me here to you," she said, kneeling beside the largest rock. She'd tucked the dagger into her bodice so she could embrace the rock with both hands. "And now I'm returning the favor. P-please, Pabbie." She wept openly now, resting her cheek on the rock. "He's my true love."

Elsa guided Kristoff to the floor at the center of the amphitheater, lowering him until the wind died and his head rested in Anna's lap. As the rocks began to tremble and the ground vibrated beneath her feet, Elsa slumped down on the nearest seat and wondered how she was ever going to summon the strength to fight Hans.

"Kristoff!"

"Kristoff's back!"

"Kristoff's hurt!"

"Anna's crying!"

Suddenly, all the rocks had faces and limbs and tufts of mossy hair, and they were all taking in the scene and talking at once. The largest stood over Anna and Kristoff, gently holding Anna's burnt hand.

"What's happening to our forest?"

"Who's burning the trees?"

"Why do I smell black magic?"

"Black magic!"

"It's Hans," Anna said.

"Hans?"

"Who is this Hans?"

"Silence!" The troll that Anna had called Pabbie turned a stern eye to the crowd. Instantly, they all closed their mouths. Pabbie smiled, satisfied, and returned his attention to Anna. He laid one hand on Kristoff's chest, and for a moment, Kristoff's heart glowed.

"Can you save him?" Anna asked brokenly.

"No," Pabbie said and Elsa gasped, sure her sister's own heart was cracking in her chest. "But you can."


End file.
